BACKGROUND: There is little consensus as to the effects of insurance expansion on emergency department (ED) utilization for mental health purposes. We aimed to study the race specific association between the dependent coverage provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and changes in young adults' usage of emergency department services for psychiatric diagnoses. METHODS:We utilized a Quasi-Experimental analysis of ED use in California from 2009–2011 for behavioral health diagnoses of individuals aged 19 to 31 years. Analysis used a difference-in-differences approach comparing those targeted by the ACA dependent provision (19–25 years) and those who were not (27 to 31 years), evaluating changes in ED visit rates per 1000 in California. Primary outcomes measured included the quarterly ED visit rates with any psychiatric diagnosis. Subgroups were analyzed for differences based on race and gender. RESULTS:The ACA dependent provision was associated with 0.05 per 1000 people fewer psychiatric ED visits among the treatment group (19–25 years) compared to the control group (27–31 years). Hispanics and Asian/Pacific Islanders were the only racial subgroups who did not see this significant reduction and were the only racial subgroups that did not see significant gains in the proportion of psychiatric ED visits covered by private insurance. CONCLUSION:The ACA dependent provision was associated with a modest reduction in the growth rate of ED use for psychiatric reasons, however, racial disparities in the effect of this provision exist for patients of Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander racial groups.

Background: The application of three-dimensional computed tomography (3D CT) to analyse craniofacial morphology in individuals with cleft lip and palate (CLP) enables detailed assessments to be made of asymmetry in the region of the cleft and in regions distant from the cleft. The aim of this study was to compare craniofacial morphology in a sample of Malaysian infants with unoperated CLP with a control sample of unaffected Malaysian infants. Methods: The study sample comprised 29 individuals: 10 with unilateral CLP (UCLP), 5 with bilateral CLP (BCLP), 7 with cleft lip and primary palate (CLPP), and 7 with isolated cleft palate (ICP). The control sample consisted of 12 non-cleft (NC) infants. All subjects were between 0.4 and 12.2 months of age. Nine mid-facial and 4 nasal bone landmarks were located on 3D CT scans and compared to a midline reference plane, which was created using the landmarks basion, sella, and nasion. Unpaired t tests and F tests were used to compare means and variances between sample groups, whereas paired t tests were used for comparisons within the UCLP and NC groups. Results: Differences in variances of some mid-facial breadths and nasal bone dimensions were found in both male and female cleft groups when compared to the NC sample. In the UCLP group, some nasal bone and facial breadth dimensions were larger than in the NC sample and the nasal bone tended to deviate to the contralateral side of the cleft. Conclusion: : CLP affects the size and orientation of the nasal bones and is associated with an altered morphology of some facial bones at positions distant from the region of the cleft.

BACKGROUND: Point-of-care ultrasound (US) is a proven diagnostic imaging tool in the emergency department (ED). Modern US devices are now more compact, affordable and portable, which has led to increased usage in austere environments. However, studies supporting the use of US in the prehospital setting are limited. The primary outcome of this pilot study was to determine if paramedics could perform cardiac ultrasound in the field and obtain images that were adequate for interpretation. A secondary outcome was whether paramedics could correctly identify cardiac activity or the lack thereof in cardiac arrest patients. METHODS: We performed a prospective educational study using a convenience sample of professional paramedics without ultrasound experience. Eligible paramedics participated in a 3-hour session on point-of-care US. The paramedics then used US during emergency calls and saved the scans for possible cardiac complaints including: chest pain, dyspnea, loss of consciousness, trauma, or cardiac arrest. RESULTS: Four paramedics from two distinct fire stations enrolled a total of 19 unique patients, of whom 17 were deemed adequate for clinical decision making (89％, 95％CI 67％–99％). Paramedics accurately recorded 17 cases of cardiac activity (100％, 95％CI 84％–100％) and 2 cases of cardiac standstill (100％, 95％CI 22％–100％). CONCLUSION: Our pilot study suggests that with minimal training, paramedics can use US to obtain cardiac images that are adequate for interpretation and diagnose cardiac standstill. Further large-scale clinical trials are needed to determine if prehospital US can be used to guide care for patients with cardiac complaints.

BACKGROUND: The study aimed to compare the time to overall length of stay (LOS) for patients who underwent point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) versus radiology department ultrasound (RDUS).METHODS: This was a prospective study on a convenience sample of patients who required pelvic ultrasound imaging as part of their emergency department (ED) assessment.RESULTS: We enrolled a total of 194 patients who were on average 32 years-old. Ninety-eight (51％) patients were pregnant (<20 weeks). Time to completion of RDUS was 66 minutes longer than POCUS (95％CI 60–73,P<0.01). Patients randomized to the RDUS arm experienced a 120 minute longer ED length of stay (LOS) (95％CI 66–173,P<0.01)CONCLUSION: In patients who require pelvic ultrasound as part of their diagnostic evaluation, POCUS resulted in a signifi cant decrease in time to ultrasound and ED LOS.

BACKGROUND: The current standard for confirmation of correct supra-diaphragmatic central venous catheter (CVC) placement is with plain film chest radiography (CXR). We hypothesized that a simple point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) protocol could effectively confirm placement and reduce time to confirmation. METHODS: We prospectively enrolled a convenience sample of patients in the emergency department and intensive care unit who required CVC placement. Correct positioning was considered if turbulent flow was visualized in the right atrium on sub-xiphoid, parasternal or apical cardiac ultrasound after injecting 5 cc of sterile, non-agitated, normal saline through the CVC. RESULTS: Seventy-eight patients were enrolled. POCUS had a sensitivity of 86.8% (95%CI 77.1%–93.5%) and specificity of 100% (95%CI 15.8%–100.0%) for identifying correct central venous catheter placement. Median POCUS and CXR completion were 16 minutes (IQR 10–29) and 32 minutes (IQR 19–45), respectively. CONCLUSION: Ultrasound may be an effective tool to confirm central venous catheter placement in instances where there is a delay in obtaining a confirmatory CXR.

In recent years, it has come a long way in the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of prostate cancer. Beside this, it was argued that definitive treatments could cause overtreatment, particularly in the very low, low, and favorable risk group. When alternative treatment and follow-up methods are being considered for this group of patients, active surveillance is seen as a good alternative for patients with very low and low-risk groups in this era. However, it has become necessary to find other alternatives for patients in the favorable risk group or patients who cannot adopt active follow-up. In the light of technological developments, the concept of focal therapy was introduced with the intensification of research to treat only the lesioned area instead of treating the entire organ for prostate lesions though there are not many publications about many of them yet. According to the initial results, it was understood that the results could be good if the appropriate focal therapy technique was applied to the appropriate patient. Thus, focal therapies have begun to find their "middle ground" place between definitive therapies and active follow-up.

Recommendations for managing clinically localized prostate cancer are structured around clinical risk criteria, with prostate biopsy (PB) Gleason score (GS) being the most important factor. Biopsy to radical prostatectomy (RP) specimen upgrading/downgrading is well described, and is often the rationale for costly imaging or genomic studies. We present simple, no-cost analyses of clinical parameters to predict which GS 6 and GS 8 patients will change to GS 7 at prostatectomy. From May 2006 to December 2012, 1590 patients underwent robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). After exclusions, we identified a GS 6 cohort of 374 patients and a GS 8 cohort of 91 patients. During this era, >1000 additional patients were enrolled in an active surveillance (AS) program. For GS 6, 265 (70.9%) of 374 patients were upgraded, and the cohort included 183 (48.9%) patients eligible for AS by the Prostate Cancer Research International Active Surveillance Study (PRIAS) standards, of which 57.9% were upgraded. PB features that predicted a >90% chance of upgrading included ≥ 7 cores positive, maximum foci length ≥ 8 mm in any core, and total tumor involvement ≥ 30%. For GS 8, downgrading occurred in 46 (50.5%), which was significantly higher for single core versus multiple cores (80.4% vs 19.6%, P = 0.011). Biochemical recurrence (BCR) occurred in 3.4% of GS 6 upgraded versus 0% nonupgraded, and in GS 8, 19.6% downgraded versus 42.2% nondowngraded. In counseling men with clinically localized prostate cancer, the odds of GS change should be presented, and certain men with high-volume GS 6 or low-volume GS 8 can be counseled with GS 7-based recommendations.
Biopsy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Grading/statistics & numerical data* ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/pathology* ; Prostate/surgery* ; Prostate-Specific Antigen/blood* ; Prostatectomy ; Prostatic Neoplasms/surgery* ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity

The molecular characterization of various cancers has shown that cancers with the same origins, histopathologic diagnoses, and clinical stages can be highly heterogeneous in their genetic and epigenetic alterations that cause tumorigenesis. A number of cancer driver genes with functional abnormalities that trigger malignant transformation and that are required for the survival of cancer cells have been identified. Therapeutic agents targeting some of these cancer drivers have been successfully developed, resulting in substantial improvements in clinical symptom amelioration and outcomes in a subset of cancer patients. However, because such therapeutic drugs often benefit only a limited number of patients, the successes of clinical development and applications rely on the ability to identify those patients who are sensitive to the targeted therapies. Thus, biomarkers that can predict treatment responses are critical for the success of precision therapy for cancer patients and of anticancer drug development. This review discusses the molecular heterogeneity of lung cancer pathogenesis; predictive biomarkers for precision medicine in lung cancer therapy with drugs targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), c-ros oncogene 1 receptor tyrosine kinase (ROS1), and immune checkpoints; biomarkers associated with resistance to these therapeutics; and approaches to identify predictive biomarkers in anticancer drug development. The identification of predictive biomarkers during anticancer drug development is expected to greatly facilitate such development because it will increase the chance of success or reduce the attrition rate. Additionally, such identification will accelerate the drug approval process by providing effective patient stratification strategies in clinical trials to reduce the sample size required to demonstrate clinical benefits.
Biomarkers, Tumor ; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; Genes, erbB-1 ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; Pharmacogenetics ; Precision Medicine ; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins ; Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Following the positive results from recent trials on endovascular therapy (EVT), bridging therapy (intravenous alteplase plus EVT) is increasingly being used for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke. However, the optimal dose of intravenous alteplase remains unknown in centers where bridging therapy is actively performed. The optimal dose for eventual recanalization and positive clinical outcomes in patients receiving bridging therapy also remains unknown. METHODS: In this prospective Enhanced Control of Hypertension and Thrombolysis Stroke Study (ENCHANTED) sub-study, we explored the outcomes following treatment with two different doses (low- [0.6 mg/kg] or standard-dose [0.9 mg/kg]) of intravenous alteplase across 12 Korean centers where EVT is actively performed. The primary endpoint was a favorable outcome at 90 days (modified Rankin Scale scores 0 to 1). Secondary endpoints included symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in all patients, and the recanalization rate and favorable outcome in patients who underwent cerebral angiography for EVT (ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01422616). RESULTS: Of 351 patients, the primary outcome occurred in 46% of patients in both the standard-(80/173) and low-dose (81/178) groups (odds ratio [OR], 1.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.72 to 1.81; P=0.582), although ICHs tended to occur more frequently in the standard-dose group (8% vs. 3%, P=0.056). Of the 67 patients who underwent cerebral angiography, there was no significant difference in favorable functional outcome between the standard- and low-dose groups (39% vs. 21%; OR, 2.39; 95% CI, 0.73 to 7.78; P=0.149). CONCLUSIONS: There was no difference in functional outcome between the patients receiving different doses of alteplase in centers actively performing bridging therapy.
Cerebral Angiography ; Cerebral Hemorrhage ; Cerebral Infarction ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Intracranial Hemorrhages ; Prospective Studies ; Stroke ; Thrombectomy ; Tissue Plasminogen Activator

Respiration protocols have been developed to manipulate mental states, including their use for therapeutic purposes. In this systematic review, we discuss evidence that respiration may play a fundamental role in coordinating neural activity, behavior, and emotion. The main findings are: (1) respiration affects the neural activity of a wide variety of regions in the brain; (2) respiration modulates different frequency ranges in the brain's dynamics; (3) different respiration protocols (spontaneous, hyperventilation, slow or resonance respiration) yield different neural and mental effects; and (4) the effects of respiration on the brain are related to concurrent modulation of biochemical (oxygen delivery, pH) and physiological (cerebral blood flow, heart rate variability) variables. We conclude that respiration may be an integral rhythm of the brain's neural activity. This provides an intimate connection of respiration with neuro-mental features like emotion. A respiratory-neuro-mental connection holds the promise for a brain-based therapeutic usage of respiration in mental disorders.
Humans ; Respiration ; Brain ; Hyperventilation ; Heart Rate/physiology* ; Lung